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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26949184">Once in a blue moon</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/SiobhanMcF/pseuds/SiobhanMcF'>SiobhanMcF</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>The Faro Diaries [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: Thrawn Series - Timothy Zahn (2017)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Ar'alani gets a sword, Background Faro/Ar'alani, But very gratuitous, Chiss Ascendancy (Star Wars), F/F, Faro wonders what kind of mentoring relationship they have that they gift eachother diaries, M/M, Not technically speaking a romance but nothing is every far off with those two, She deserves a sword, There is no heterosexual explanation for Good Day Lieutenant Vanto, might make it into a series, she barely sends her ex-mentors christmas cards</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 18:02:37</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,562</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26949184</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/SiobhanMcF/pseuds/SiobhanMcF</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Set at 'Good day, Lieutenant Vanto'. Faro makes some observations about the men in front of her as the scene plays out. She also has a growing headache. We all know what's causing it.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Ar'alani/Karyn Faro, Karyn Faro &amp; Eli Vanto, Ronan/His cape, Thrawn | Mitth'raw'nuruodo/Eli Vanto</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>The Faro Diaries [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1966519</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>7</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>32</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Once in a blue moon</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Karyn Faro had never considered herself a particularly introspective or pensive person. Sure, when the mood or need struck she would contemplate matters before deciding on a course of action, but she generally considered herself a pragmatic person. Getting things done and doing them well and efficiently was where she shone. The musing and pondering she preferred to leave to others- and by others, she meant her commanding officer. She was convinced Thrawn did enough mental gymnastics for the entire fleet. And one strategic genius aboard a ship was quite enough, thank you very much. There was a singular exception she had been willing to make to her rule of one: Lieutenant Commander Eli Vanto. Whilst he had not been quite as heavy on the plotting as Thrawn, the Chiss’ style of analysis and methodological, careful consideration of any given conundrum they faced had definitely rubbed off on him. But she supposed Eli had not as much been an exception to the rule of one, as part of the rule of one. When it came to commanding the Chimaera, Eli and Thrawn were a seamless singularity. Complementing and supporting one another -despite the difference in their ranks- as equals. It had been a fascinating, at times even exciting, phenomenon to watch. What was even more interesting to her was observing how the two men had incorporated the other’s mannerisms and idiosyncrasies. Whilst Thrawn’s basic still carried a slight accent -of what she assumed was his native language- a tinge of a Wild Space drawl could also be heard at times. What was more, once when she had entered commander Vanto’s office to check on an analysis Thrawn had requested, she had found him leaning against steepled fingers. Something she was certain he had not been doing before. Now that he was gone, he was gone it was also easy to see glimpses of him reflected in her commanding officer. </p><p><br/>For example, the Chiss had taken to having a caf each morning- taken with one spoon of sweetener and a dash of milk. A familiar order; identical to that of a certain ex-Lieutenant Commander. In unguarded moments, he’d also comb his fingers through his hair as if he was pushing unruly locks away from his face which had never been there, to begin with. More noticeably, he had burned through three assistants in the year since Commander Vanto left. The fourth one, who so far had lasted the longest, 6 months, might be here to stay, however. The first one, a young man from Agaris with an undeniable Wild Space drawl and a brilliant statistician had not even lasted a month. Even though he had been a pleasant and useful addition to the Chimaera’ crew, Faro felt relieved when he was inevitably reassigned to the <em>ISD Executrix</em>. In her time working with this Chiss, this was the first time she had seen him looking downright miserable- or as close as he got to that anyway. A decidedly unsettling experience. The second candidate had been a woman from Coruscant recommended by Governor Pryce and came with a tangible hatred of Outer Rim and Wild Space, grudgingly tolerating her alien CO as an obvious means to more power. Even her ability to run complex calculations and analyses without a datapad in hand had not been enough to save her. She had also shown signs of getting along with Senior Lieutenant Xoxtin. Faro was glad she hadn't lasted a week. The third had been pleasant, but bland in all other aspects. Average in all qualities and unobtrusive to an unnerving degree. He hadn't as much been an aid to the Grand Admiral as just an extra officer present on the ship. Only when the man’s absence had been noted in the middle of a battle when Thrawn asked to be handed a datapad which never came -because the man had stationed himself with the sensor and weapons crew, rather than taken his position by Thrawn’s side- had Thrawn noted that his talents might be better deployed elsewhere. Not long after, through mutual agreement or requested reassignment by either party, he had officially transferred to become Second sensor officer on board the <em>Foremost</em>. The fourth, and current, one had been... interesting. This time, Faro had insisted on selecting a candidate, judging her to be a perfect amalgamation of the candidates before, but without bearing any similarities to the recently disappeared Commander. Like the first one, she demonstrated a knack for numerical analysis, her record at the academy matched that of the second one, and much like the third one she was dissimilar to one Eli Vanto in any way that matters, right down to her generic and unobtrusive Mid-Rim accent. When Faro had first invited her aboard the ship during a brief visit to Coruscant, she’d immediately become convinced of her choice; when she entered her office, where the woman had been asked to wait, Faro found her engulfed staring at a painting gifted to her by the Grand Admiral. It became immediately clear that whilst her record at the Imperial Academy had been impressive, her skills were still raw and untested. She’d also displayed a social awkwardness and political ineptitude which was not dissimilar to that of her commanding officer. It would be risky she decided, but she had little to lose. And it had. Despite a rather jarring first week, they had settled in the comfortable working rhythm. Whether it was the woman’s keen interest in art, her compelling unrefined skillset or their shared political ineptitude that had sparked Thrawn’s interests, he had accepted her as an aide. She refused to call it a pet project, she valued her command too much for that, but it sufficed to say her bet had paid off. Whilst he had never shown it on the bridge, in his more unguarded moments Faro was convinced Thrawn had looked unmoored, lost even. That was gone now, though he still looked lonely but that was something even she could not remedy. Whilst Eli had still been by his side, she had never paid any thought to it, but it couldn’t be easy being the sole Chiss in the navy- in the Empire even. Whatever life he had lived before this, he’d left it all behind when he joined the Empire. And through it all, Eli Vanto had been his sole companion.<br/><br/>She wondered if Thrawn himself was aware- if either man was aware of the bond that formed between them which far surpassed that of a mere mentoring one. Eli, for all his charisma and communicative skill most definitely hadn't realised, Faro knew. She remembered a conversation they’d shared over dinner, less than a week before his sudden departure. He’d been sitting in the officers’ lounge holding a small book, bound in thick leather, looking worn but not damaged. A rare sight aboard a Star Destroyer. She was willing to bet that, outside Thrawn's office, it may be the only one of such items on board. Finding out it was a diary -<em>Thrawn's diary</em>- and a gift -<em>a gift to Eli</em>- had been a revelation the size of Ronan’s ego. Keeping a studiously neutral expression, careful not to roll her eyes, she had listened to Eli's confusion at the gift, as he held it in his hands. They either had a curious idea of what a mentoring relationship looked like, or were really, <em>really</em> dense. Arguably both.<br/><br/>She knew others had wondered about the nature of her relationship, though their interests are political rather than personal. Moff Ghadi and Grand Admiral Savitt had definitely been poking around, even more so after Commander Vanto's sudden departure from the navy. And over the years there had been countless others, trying to find a chink in the armour of what was the powerhouse that commanded the <em>ISD Chimaera</em>. The Wild Space aide-de-camp to its alien commander, an obvious, but ill-chosen, target. Despite the entire crew's fierce loyalty -with possibly Lieutenant Xoxtin exempted, <em>whom she made a mental note to keep her away from their latest caped-and-Krennic-loving addition to the ship</em>- Eli's trust and devotion towards the Chiss had always been unmatched.<br/><br/>All this made the scene currently unfolding even more unusual. A small shuttle was docking in their hangar bay; one coming from a Chiss warship, carrying one very specific ex-Lieutenant Commander. Even from where she stood, she could see Thrawn’s posture had an unusual tension to it. One hand wrapped tightly around a helmet he was holding under his arm, the other resting stiffly against his hips. Under different circumstances, Faro would have been entertained; after all the court-martials Thrawn had been through, this was what finally cracked that carefully controlled façade? <em>She really wasn’t paid enough for this.</em> Turning her attention back to the present, she heard the shuttle’s hatch opened with a soft hiss, revealing a tall Chiss woman in a pristine white officers uniform with dark hair that shone in the hangar bay’s lowered lights. On her shoulder, she wore a patch displaying the same multi-circle sigil that Faro had also seen on the Chiss warship; the Chiss navy sigil she deduced. Resting on her hip was an elegant ceremonial sabre, its sheath attached to the diagonal sash crossing her chest. Following behind her was a familiar tanned face. <em>Eli Vanto.</em> Even from where she was standing, she could see his gaze locking onto Thrawn, taking him in; eyes lingering on his face and the breastplate. Contrarily, Thrawn was making a point not to look back at him and keeping his eyes on the tall woman approaching them.<br/><br/>“Ch'abcesit Ar’alani.” He spoke gravely in a language unfamiliar to her. The woman answered in a smooth and velvety voice, her tone studiously neutral. She didn’t care much what she was saying, but Faro hoped she’d keep talking. Eli, standing behind the woman, slightly to the right appeared to have no trouble following the conversation. The native Chiss language then, she deduced. Seeing as Eli had joined the Chiss navy- Or rather the Chiss Ascendancy, as she just learned, Faro figured that Thrawn had been teaching him. It would explain their joint absences from the officers’ lounge in the weeks leading up to then-Commander Vanto’s sudden disappearance. She marvelled at the intimacy of it -one she was now convinced neither men would have fully appreciated, probably viewing it simply as necessary preparations for Eli’s new role. In all her time with Thrawn, she had not learned as much as the name of his homeworld; let alone his language.<br/><br/>Thrawn shifted his gaze, landing on Eli as if he only just realised his once aid and confidant was also present. ''Good day, Lieutenant Vanto." Had it been anyone else, his voice would have sounded casual, but Faro had spent too much time around Thrawn to fall for it. <em>Who did he think he was kidding.</em> The answer to her question came immediately as she saw a flash of hurt and confusion cross now-Lieutenant Vanto’s face. She had seen him stiffening as Thrawn turned to him, humming with anticipation, which made his current disappointment and bewilderment all the more painful to watch. He recovered quickly, faster than he would have when he had still been with them and turned towards his commander instead, answering whatever order she had just given. She tried to give him a comforting smile, but he was still too distracted. Outwardly, he looked calm and composed once more, but she had known the man long enough to tell that the words were still digging at him. His eyes were focussed on Thrawn once more. <em>So he was a Lieutenant now.</em> The demotion made sense she supposed, entering an alien navy where’d have to learn a foreign language from scratch. This explained his sudden disappearance from the Chimaera and the imperial navy as a whole. And the diary. <em>The diary.</em> If it wasn't horridly inappropriate, she'd chuckle at that. They really were very dense.<br/><br/>Would either be willing to confront the unresolved tension between them? Give a voice to whatever unspoken words were obviously swirling around them. A sudden bout of melancholy hit her. Personally, she refused to put stock into needlessly sentimental and maudlin notions of eternal love and grand romantic gestures. Faro had always prided herself on her pragmatic outlook on life. She considered herself a military woman and as such had little interest in confining herself in a relationship in which she would sooner or later inevitably be expected to become a mother and wife, giving up her career, the navy and the freedom that came with it. And besides, she found that there were very few men who did not feel emasculated when they realised she could easily beat them in hand-to-hand combat. To say nothing of her commanding an Imperial Star Destroyer. <em>Why did it always have to be about size?</em> She returned her mental gaze to the men in front of her, turning pensive. Their bond was unique, it always had been it seemed. The way they stuck together throughout their respective careers, how together they were a force to be reckoned with… <em>Could it be? </em><br/><br/>She had heard of dyads in the force; both the greater ones in legend, but also the more common ones, but never thought much of them outside of the plots of saccharine holovids. But they did exist; people whose bonds were reflected in and consolidated through the fabric of existence that surrounded them. Bonds that transcended simple friendship or love; bonds of those who were more than the mere sum of their parts. Whilst it was not something she ever strived for herself, she supposed that forming such a bond only to then be parted -without even becoming aware of the bond, let alone acknowledge it- must be harrowing. If Lieutenant Vanto’s longing gaze and Thrawn’s forced apathy were anything to go by, their ‘reunion’ was taking a heavy toll on both of them. <em>She really hoped they’d figure it out… </em><br/><br/>Seeing that Eli had joined the Chiss Ascendancy, Faro was almost certain the Grand Admiral aimed to return one day. How and why else had he sent the other man there otherwise? Stars help her; they were brilliant men, but sometimes too brilliant and over-analytical for their own goods. Both of them. Thrawn was obviously in his own league of sheer tactical brilliance, able to spot patterns in chaotic situations and use them to his advantage. But she had seen Bantha’s that were more in touch with their emotions and those of the people around them. Eli on the other hand, despite his fluency in more language than Faro could introduce herself in, was at heart more of a numbers and statistics man. He could be charming when he wanted, but was equally capable of burying his feelings in deep denial. Neither had ever been very good at social graces or reading people- especially if their court-martials and run-ins with various politicians were anything to go by. <em>Something she did certainly not miss these days.</em> One unable to mask his feelings, the other too awkward to recognise them in the first place. They really made quite the pair, she mused as she watched the group make their way towards the shuttle waiting to take them to the Grysk observation post. <em>The universe was about to get interesting again.</em></p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I blame the chat, Jessko and the entirety of Tumblr because I obviously hold no agency for my own trash writing. Do I have ideas for a follow up? Yep. Will I write them?</p><p> </p><p>Note: I've headcanoned that force dyads are more common and exist to various degrees and can affect non-Force sensitives as well. Like there’s the big epic Kylo/Rey one obviously, but others would also exist. They’re not necessarily romantic relationships (but I mean, if you wanna go for it!), just people who work *together*. I’d headcanon Anakin/Obi-Wan, Cassian/Jyn and Blaze/Chirrut as dyads. We’d also assume that cultural references to them exist in the Star Wars media, so people would be aware of them.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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